#22 - Finding Values/Art Therapy
Art I made as therapy, and the new episode of the podcast.
The previous issue was a SneakyArt Drop with haiku. Read here. In today’s issue of the SneakyArt Post, I share some art I made as self-therapy, a round-up of private commissions over 2020, and the latest episode of the podcast.
Enjoy!
Ep 9 Finding Values with Marek Badzynski
In the latest podcast episode, I spoke with urban-sketcher Marek Badzynski about being an impatient artist, using a bent-nib fountain pen, and the importance of getting started quickly. Our conversation began with an anecdote - 30 years after making a painting of a church in Italy, Marek found himself once again painting the same scene. He did not remember having done it until he found the old piece in a sketchbook. While this was simply a nice coincidence, what was more interesting was that he had re-painted the same scene from the same point of view, sitting on the same steps to look at the building from the same angle. So while his style had evolved and his abilities had improved over time, his instinct for a great scene was unchanged.
We connect dots across many years to see Marek’s journey as an urban-sketcher, from the time he sold street-art as a young student in Italy, to picking up water-soluble graphite at the USk Chicago Seminar last year.
If urban-sketching interests you, or if you are interested in picking up drawing as a hobby, I think this episode will of use to you.
Listen on your choice of streaming service, and share with me what you think.
Spotify | Apple | PocketCasts | Google | Web | Gaana | JioSaavn
Art Therapy
Earlier this week, instead of reading the news, I did something positive in the morning. I gave an hour of my attention to this photograph from the farmers’ protests taking place in India.
I gave one hour to the shapes of their noses, to the way they squint at each other through the sunshine, to their smiles, to their clothes, and to the part of their attire that was used to condemn them - the Sikh man’s pagdi and the Muslim man’s topi.
For those out of the loop, here’s an NPR piece about the protests.
This year, I have used drawing as a way to spend time with various causes and issues faced by people far away from me, far enough that their worlds are completely different from mine. How can I possibly know the world of a migrant laborer? How could I begin to understand their lives and struggles? Empathy is all I can hope to have, and I find that easier when I spend time with their stories.
These drawings got me some attention on social media, and sometimes that led to sales of prints and books. I’ve donated a part of those profits to NGOs supporting India’s laborers, farmers and others rendered destitute by the brutalities of the year.
If life for you has been not too bad, please consider donating to GiveIndia here.
Commissions
I have fulfilled more commissions this year than I had anticipated. I took on some big challenges, and the joy of following through on them was two-fold - the first being the sheer joy of achievement, and the second from building credibility as a small artist in the big city. Anyway, here’s a video I put together to show the drawing process behind some of my work this year. It features scenes from Chicago, Baltimore, New Delhi, Kolkata, and Wisconsin.
Another interesting observation we had in the podcast was about drawings we do for ourselves versus commissions. A number of false/needless assumptions creep in whenever we do work for others. For no good reason at all, there is the pressure to meet expectations of “how finished art should look”. For those who work at fast speeds, like myself, this can mean slowing down and doubting myself. Hesitations creep in where I would earlier have moved swiftly, and I curb the very styles that have earned me the commission. It’s a funny sort of Catch-22 situation. We conclude that the best way to do a good job for someone else is to do a good job for yourself.
Here is a short drawing video of the farmer protest drawing.
I’m offering a limited edition set of Chicago prints on my Etsy store. Use code SECRETSALE for a special holiday discount.
That’s all for this week. Thank you for your attention.